SPRING PRACTICE PERIOD: Stories from the Lotus Sutra

Dogen-Zenji so cherished the Lotus Sutra that he actually carved a selection of it into his door. This, the core text of not only Zen but the whole of Mahayana Buddhism, has never lost its appeal among practitioners of the Way. Join us for our SPRING PRACTICE PERIOD: Stories From the Lotus Sutra led by Sensei Joshin Byrnes, Sensei Genzan Quennell

10-04-2014: Living and Practicing in Vow Sesshin (Part 4, last part)

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Episode Description: In this final sesshin talk, Sensei Robert discusses the final Great Vow: “the awakened way is unsurpassable; I vow to embody it.” He says the awakened way knows absolute (not only relative) truth, exemplified in the story of “Nangaku’s Tile.” Emptiness or absolute truth tells us that nothing can be at all contained by its local name: what we agree is a bucket, someone else might think is a stool. Likewise we, ourselves, cannot be contained by our thoughts or emotions. Engaging with our stories in zazen is just “polishing tiles.” Peaceful life is found not in resolving the drama but in taking a step back, being with the body.